g l a s s
by autumn desiree
Summary: Everything was like glass - so fragile and so transparent. It couldn't have stayed that way forever.


**g l a s s **

**A Matentei Loki Fanfiction**

**Composed by Chiaki Nozomi**

Mayura knew.

She stared at him with open eyes, mouth parted slightly in a proposed statement. Her body seemed paralyzed, she didn't dare to breathe or blink, for fear of breaking the image.

Loki didn't want to get Mayura involved. Firstly, her 'mysterious mysteries' antics would have her questioning him day and night. Second, the situation involved years of incidents that would take just as long to explain. Thirdly, she was human. Mortal. Against Gods, she would stand no chance.

He had always been careful to remove Mayura from the premises whenever he turned 'godly'.

His heart raced like a cheating husband who had just been caught by his wife. He opened and closed his mouth, unable to say anything. Finally he looked away and sighed.

"So it was you," Mayura finally said, voice strained with confusion and fear. Loki's eyes widened and he turned to face her, mouth agape. Mayura - already - knew?! "It scared me at first. But now, I get it." Mayura stared into Loki's emerald eyes with a maturity Loki had never seen before. Mayura's eyes turned sad, and she smiled gently. "I really do get it."

**Phase One The girl who mingled with gods**

At first, it felt like the steady ticking of a clock - a small, subconscious pulse that occasionally blossomed into a mighty 'dong' only to be silenced seconds later. When she slept, the subconscious pulse guided her. Her dreams paralleled her strong love of mysteries and the paranormal, except she would be the star detective and solve many cases with a flare and ingenuity.

Lately, the dreams shared a common link - a reappearing character. A tall, lean, gentleman. He moved in the shadows and vanished when the light dared to touch him. The man always appeared in her dreams, yet his role could be merely a face in the crowd or the person who saves her from danger and leaves as fast as he came.

His presence, while embedded in the depths of her mind, always became overshadowed by the stronger 'points' of the dream. You can't say Mayura didn't notice the man in her dreams, rather, she just ignored it. The dreams were only a precursor, perhaps a warning, or preparation.

Papa watched his daughter sleep from the crack in her doorway. At first, it disheartened him that she was more interested in her 'mysterious mysteries' than the shrine, but it couldn't be helped. She had no psychic talent. But now, he could feel her presence, and slowly, it was growing stronger. Soon she would be able to sense ghosts, and later, possibly see them.

Whether or not she would like the 'growth' was unknown. If anything, her little 'mysterious mysteries' would become less mysterious and destroy her wild imagination. He rubbed his temple in confusion. Everyone in their family was born with psychic abilities, the 'coming of age' abilities were something found in storybooks. Either you were born with the gift and it matured with you, or you weren't. Mayura's sudden growth was unnatural. He sighed and walked back to his room, sleeping soundly moments later.

Mayura yawned and stretched, then bounced up, ever energetic. She looked outside and grinned. "I wonder what mysteries we'll see today!" She skipped down the hall to the kitchen, where, oddly, her father stood at the stove. "Morning, Papa," she greeted.

"Mayura. Good Morning." Mayura nodded and began to set the table for their breakfast. Her steps had a bounce to them, which Papa figured came from the dream. He smiled slightly when three seconds later Mayura began gleefully telling him of her dream.

Papa smiled and listened, giving her the responses she desired. Mayura resembled her mother in that aspect, always talking and telling of daily matters with vigor and excitement. Her strong love of life only hurt worse when it was snuffed out, but time had eased the pain, and the two kept her and her teachings in their hearts.

"Loki-san! Yamino-kun," Mayura called as she entered the mansion. A bark diverted her attention to the stairs; where Fenrir dashed down to greet her.

"She may not be as beautiful as Freya, but she gave a hell of a good scratch behind the ears," Fenrir thought as he stumbled over the large stairs.

Mayura smiled at the sight of the black puppy and knelt down to pick him up. "Is Loki-kun upstairs," she cooed, to which Fenrir responded with a bark.

Mayura headed up the familiar staircase and took the usual path to Loki's study.

Yamino-kun was straightening up the bookcase while Loki scribbled something on paper diligently. Loki didn't look up when Mayura entered, but he did say "Hello Mayura," like he always did. Yamino-kun stopped his work and smiled and gave his usual greeting.

"The aura's tense in here," Mayura stated, and her eyes began to gleam, "Could it be - a mystery!"

"Nothing that concerns you," Loki replied before looking up to see her pout and walk to the sofa where Ecchan slept, about to sit down. Loki's eyes widened but before he could call out her name, Mayura stopped, then moved to the seat next to Ecchan. Loki glanced at her, confused.

Since when could Mayura see Ecchan? But if she could, then surely she would be screaming 'Mystery!' and jumping up and down. Could she sense him? He glanced at Mayura once more, who had taken an interest to a book on the coffee table, and noticed nothing out of the ordinary. A coincidence. It had to be. After all, Mayura's spiritual sensor is zero.

While Mayura had no spirit contact, Loki did, and a newspaper article did more than just 'catch his eye.'

A very famous poet, named Fukai, had the fortune of being on the front page. Of course, he had two portraits - one before, and one after death. The police reprimanded the killers that night, but something weird occurred during the autopsy. Fukai's blood did not remain in his body. In fact, they ventured to call it the work of a vampire. But how could two normal men drain the blood of the body?

Here lay the mystery, and Loki was damned if Mayura would know they took on another case.

"Mayura, would you like a copy of today's newspaper," Yamino asked, much to Loki's horror. Loki silently counted to five before hearing the trademarked 'fushigi mystery!' come ever-so-cheerfully out of Mayura's sweet little mouth. As she started babbling with giddy happiness, Loki made a mental note to kill Yamino as soon as Mayura left.

"Loki, Loki!"

"It's not a vampire Mayura." Mayura pouted in response. "And don't worry about it. The police are handling it, and you have a history test. Isn't that why you came here in the first place," he continued, effectively changing the subject.

"Loki and Yamino-kun will help me, right," she asked, and Yamino dropped a very large, old, and thick book onto her lap. She stared at the book, and then sneezed from the smell.

"There's more than enough information about the Meiji era in here," Yamino explained, then excused himself to work on dinner. Mayura watched him leave, then opened the book slowly, prompting more sneezes. Loki chuckled slightly, and returned his attention to the article.

The man killed could only be one person - Kvasir - and the blood lay with a group of dwarfs.

But why were they in the world of the humans? Was Odin going through some weird male PMS and exiling everyone? The last thought struck a chord, Loki still had no idea why Odin sent him here. He looked at Mayura again - fast asleep. He smiled and shook his head. Looks like Ecchan would be helping her with another test.

Loki rose out of his chair and walked over to Mayura and removed the book from her lap. Mayura moaned and mumbled 'mystery' and Ecchan rose, flying to his master's shoulder. Loki and Ecchan left the room, followed by Fenrir, who cutely tripped over his floppy ears.


End file.
